Heat causes Charleston to suspend carriage tours for 4th day

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Unusually hot late spring weather has led officials in Charleston to suspend horse-drawn carriage tours for a fourth day.

City spokesman Jack O’Toole said Charleston’s Director of Livability and Tourism stopped the tours around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday after the temperature rose to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius).

Charleston carefully monitors temperatures and humidity for the safety of the horses. Carriage tours have been suspended every day since Sunday as unusually hot May temperatures have settled over the area.

Officials also suspended carriage tours for several hours Monday.

The high in Charleston on Tuesday was 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3 Celsius) — the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the city in May. Highs on Sunday and Monday were 100 degrees (37.8 Celsius).